Conference to showcase integration of health services

The University is holding a conference to showcase Plymouth's pioneering integration of healthcare, social and wellbeing services

Miss Amy King

Media and Communications Officer

Communication Services (External Relations)

12 January 2016

Plymouth
University is holding a conference to showcase how a pioneering integration of
healthcare, social and wellbeing services is making a positive difference to
the city.

Integration:
Making it Real
takes place on 7 March; providing an opportunity for local and national health and
social care experts to discuss how the integration, known as One System – One
Budget, has benefitted Plymouth.

Comprising the
University, Plymouth City Council (PCC), Plymouth Community Healthcare,
Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust and the North, East and West Devon Clinical
Commissioning Group (NEW Devon CCG), One System – One Budget began in April
2015 when PCC and NEW Devon CCG combined their commissioning money to a sum of
£462 million.

To date, funds
have been used to create a ‘single point of access’ for service users, whereby
they can access nurses, social workers, health and wellbeing professionals in
one place within their locality, rather than having to ‘retell their story’ to
numerous people across the city. This has resulted in a multi-agency and
co-operative approach where co-location facilitates the sharing of information,
resulting in better outcomes for service users.

Integration: Making
it Realtakes place all
day on 7 March 2016 in the Roland Levinsky Building at Plymouth University, and
speakers include Professor Trish Livsey, Executive Dean of the University’s
Faculty of Health and Human Sciences and Councillor Tudor Evans, Leader of Plymouth
City Council, as well as other leading national specialists.

Packed full of
lectures, workshops and networking opportunities, the conference is set to
showcase the good work One System – One Budget has achieved, along with how
local authorities in other parts of the country can work collaboratively to
achieve effective results.

As a strategic
partner, Plymouth University will conduct analysis of the integration, using it
to help inform and prepare the workforce of the future – providing student
doctors, nurses and health professionals with the understanding and skills to
work in a more collaborative way.

The institution
is also conducting research into a number of conditions requiring
multi-disciplinary care, including dementia, and will publish results in due
course to help services to further improve and adapt.

Professor
Livsey said: “Plymouth
University is proud of its excellent teaching, research and clinical skills in
health and wellbeing, and we’re delighted to be part of this integration. The courses and research we do are
world-leading and, through our excellent working relationship with the other
organisations, we have been able to share ideas of best practice with our
students and ensure the local community is served as effectively as possible.”

The integration
was initiated by PCC and New Devon CCG as a way of dealing with the city’s ageing
population, an expected increase in numbers and greater demands on public
spending. The One System – One Budgetmodel is based on the four Integrated
Commissioning Strategies of: Wellbeing, Children and Young People, Community,
and Enhanced and Specialist Care, and its holistic approach is designed to deliver
healthier people, living healthier lives in healthier communities.

Looking forward to the event, Councillor Tudor
Evans said: "We are looking forward to celebrating our successes at this
conference and showcasing some of the radical work being done in Plymouth to
improve health and social care. These are challenging times for
health and social care and here in Plymouth we have recognised that we need to
work in a collaborative way to address the health and care needs of our local
population.

"We have made some great progress so far in making our health and care services
more integrated and one of the first stages was the transfer of adult social
care staff from Plymouth City Council to an integrated health and care team at
Plymouth Community Healthcare. The next phase is our work with NEW Devon CCG to pool resources and we
recently agreed a joint commissioning budget through our ‘One System – One
Budget’ approach, with the aim of tailoring services to the needs of the
individual and ensuring they get the right care, at the right time, in the
right place.”

For more information or to reserve a place at Integration: Making it Real, please visit the events page.

Faculty of Health and Human Sciences

Welcome to the University's Faculty of Health and Human Sciences - one of the UK’s largest providers of the workforce for health and social care.